


Unexpected Truths

by sumiya



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Organized Crime, Police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 02:11:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4122198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumiya/pseuds/sumiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young doctor Yagyuu Hiroshi expects a normal shift at the ER that night. By morning, his hands are tainted with Niou's blood and he is embroiled in the deepest sides of an organization he doesn't fully want to confront.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Truths

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fulminata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fulminata/gifts).



> Written for [Spring PoT Exchange ](http://p-o-t-exchange.livejournal.com/)at lj, run by [arysthaeniru](http://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/arysthaeniru). Beta-ed by amazing [lahdolphin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lahdolphin/pseuds/lahdolphin) and [arysthaeniru](http://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/arysthaeniru).

Yagyuu Hiroshi closed his eyes for a moment as he drank down the bitter coffee from his flask. He had almost drunk it all already, yet it wouldn’t be enough to keep him aware and alert for the rest of the night. Still, he preferred being a little drowsy in the morning than having to resort to the hospital coffee, which he was sure would keep him awake, for all the wrong reasons. He looked at the clock on the wall of his office. There was still plenty of time before sunrise and therefore for stupid people to embroil themselves in dangerous situations that could result in needing medical assistance. Yagyuu wished for an easy night shift but with a short-staffed ER, that was being too optimistic.

He placed the flask on his desk again, as he pulled some reports that were yet to be filled out, to check and revise those that already were. Interns tried to fill them out right, or so they claimed, and it took time to revise them and write the necessary corrections for the morning shift.

_‘30 years old female in labor, dilation 4cm, oxytocin 2ml….’_

There was an urgent knock on his door before it was slammed open by one of the nurses.

“Doctor, we need you at the OR.” Ah, yes. It had been naïve of him to think it was going to be an easy night, then.

“I didn’t hear any siren,” Yagyuu said arching an eyebrow as he rose up from his chair. Even if the ambulance needed to turn it off, once they reach the hospital, it would always give him some time to prepare himself for urgent cases.

“This one came in by foot,” she said. Well, that was an uncommon one. Yagyuu hurried to the preparation room, taking his robe off and picking a surgery gown before washing his hands thoroughly as required by protocol. The nurses kept on filling him in as he did this. “Male, probably on his mid 20s, several stab wounds on upper torso, excessive bleeding, walked in, presented resistance to being treated, in and out of consciousness. Already canalized and the anesthesiologist is on her way. Shall we start without her?”

“Yes, set the anesthetic tower up.” Yagyuu frowned; the deputy director would hear about this. There was only so much Yagyuu could handle on his own, he was not going to compromise his practise over other people’s ineptitude. As for now, the tower and his own skills would have to suffice.

Yagyuu opened the door to the OR, to see that two nurses were cutting up the clothes of the subject, preparing him for the procedure. Surprisingly, the man was still struggling against them. Yagyuu sighed internally, “Tie him up if you need to, we don’t have time to—“

“Fuck… off…”

The worst fear of most doctors was seeing someone they loved being wheeled through the glass doors on a stretcher, suddenly facing the responsibility of having their lives in their hands. Yagyuu was not afraid of this, he had never had to be. His family came from a very well-known, well-respected family line of doctors, and if they ever were in need of the slightest medical care, they would go to the best private hospitals in the country. Not the small overworked clinic in the middle of the city, where Yagyuu worked at. With no loved ones to worry about, he never really cared to form an emotional bond with his patients, because it wasn’t needed and could interfere with his objectivity and concentration.

Maybe that was why seeing Niou covered in blood and at the verge of death, felt like being rolled over by a truck.

He rushed to the table. Niou’s eyes were glazed and out of focus but sharpened at the sight of Yagyuu. He knew Niou recognized him by how his lips curved slightly upwards after seeing him. Yagyuu started shouting directions to the nurses as he placed a hand on Niou’s forehead. It’s alright, I’ve got this.

“Puri.” I know you do.

Niou closed his eyes and became slack as the anesthesia kicked in.

 

 

-·-

 

Click.

The sky was tinged with pale grey with the break of dawn. It was cloudy and the humidity was high and suffocating, oppressing. It would feel cold later, after the skies had emptied and the water ran across the street, but now it was just an annoyance.

Click.

If the rain didn’t stop by the time Yagyuu needed to leave work, he would get wet in his way to the parking lot. How inconvenient. He should start bringing an umbrella if this was going to be the beginning of the rainy season.

“Doctor Yagyuu Hiroshi?”

Click.

Yagyuu flipped the silver lighter closed once more and turned away from the window. A police officer was standing at the door frame, of course. “Good morning, how can I help you?”

The fact that he knew why the officer was here, didn’t mean he should make his job easier. It was the faulty police system that had caused this mess in the first place, wasn’t it?

“I’m Inspector Sanada Genichirou, in charge of the case of the murder of…” The officer looked down at the folder on his hands, “…young male, identity currently unknown. Report goes that you were the doctor in charge when he arrived to get medical attention. I would like to have a word with you, if possible.”

They didn’t know Niou’s name. It made sense, Niou hand’t been carrying a wallet when he came in so there wasn’t a way to identify him. Yagyuu didn’t feel like correcting Officer Sanada, as if he would have the right to Niou’s name once voiced aloud. Instead, Yagyuu waved at the spare chair in the small office.

“Of course, please take a seat.” Because all he wanted to talk about it was how Niou died on the operation table because of blood loss and how all his desperate efforts to keep him alive had been useless in the end. Such a _lovely_ way to finish this shift from hell, absolutely. “I see you have my report already, is there anything else you need further knowledge of?”

“Did the subject said anything about his attacker? About the circumstances that caused his injuries?”

Niou’s voice still resonated in Yagyuu’s mind, crystal clear.

“No, he didn’t. He was already suffering the side effect of blood loss and his speech was incoherent.” The fact that one nonsensical world had meant everything between them, was a different matter. Officer Sanada frowned, displeased, but nodded nonetheless.

“Nurses recall the subject showed violent behavior and reluctance to get medical attention. Would you suggest he was under the influences of drugs?”

“It would be hard to tell. Pain, blood loss, emotional trauma can affect someone’s behavior. I’m sure you can agree with me that being stabbed five times and walking to a hospital for help, might be quite stressful. I believe the analysis your medical examiner will most certainly run, will offer you a more accurate answer to that question,” Yagyuu answered and pushed his glasses up, annoyed. It would be easily mistaken by tiredness, he was sure. He had to remind himself that Niou was gone and that was just a body, so whatever happened to it was none of his business.

“Alright. I won’t take any more of your time, doctor.” The officer stood up and offered Yagyuu a hand. Yagyuu stood up to take it, after placing the lighter safely inside his pocket. “Have a good day.”

Right.

“You too, Inspector.”

 

 

-·-

 

Cold. Yagyuu decided he was cold. His body was shaking uncontrollably and in the dim light that the closed curtains allowed, his fingertips looked slightly blue. Probably, because he was lying on the bare floor of his living room, staring at the ceiling. Perhaps, the fact he had gotten soaked on his way to his car in the morning and hadn’t bothered to change his clothes once he arrived home, had something to do with it. Maybe it was because he was dead already, as much as Niou was.

Niou had been in his life since forever, in and out, disappearing and coming back, but always there. A constant solid chaos that brought life to his over-organized life, a breeze of joy and wildness that was always there when he needed to be cheered up and was too proud to admit it. In return, Yagyuu paid for the bar bills and strip clubs, traveled half the country to see a music band he didn’t know anything about and once, Yagyuu had even bailed him out of jail. He would complain about Niou’s recklessness and insist Niou should get a real job and settle down, but he hardly saw their friendship as an unequal agreement. If anything, he always got more out of Niou than he did from himself. But now, Niou was no more and it was his fault. At failing to save him, he had killed Niou.

Yagyuu curled up on his side and stared at nothing, mind blank and empty.

He pulled Niou’s silver lighter out of his pocket and pretended to examine it closely. His glasses were long gone and tears wouldn’t let see much anyway. Niou had carried almost nothing with him at the moment of his death, minus some worthless trash like bubblegum wrappers, a ticket bus, some spare change and the lighter. Well, the latter couldn’t be considered as completely worthless, since it was made of solid silver. Yagyuu knew that, since he had been the one that had stolen it from his own father to give Niou as present, when they graduated middle school together. Yagyuu couldn’t have let the police keep this, the last thing that bonded him to Niou, so he had stole it again before Niou’s possessions were handed over to them.

Click.

He flicked it once and the flame’s light hurt his eyes. It felt good, real, so he did it again. And again. And again. Yagyuu flicked the lighter on and off and eventually it started to become too hot to hold it anymore. He dropped it to the floor and even in the poor lightening, he could see something scribbled on it. He frowned and rubbed his eyes, expecting it to disappear, but the scribbling was still there. _Heat-activated ink?_ Yagyuu frowned and reached blindly for his glasses. With the world coming back into focus and his breath caught in his throat, Yagyuu read Niou’s handwriting.

 _ goo.gl/jp4AEe _  
_ c0yt3_  
_pss: 45j28_  
_SWITCH_

 

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

“Morning, Sanada. You look like you could use some sleep. Did you have a rough night?” Yukimura Seiichi said, leaning against the door frame, and Sanada took a deep breath. Usually, he wouldn’t mind Yukimu-- Chief Inspector Yukimura’s idea of sharing a cup of coffee in the police headquarters office. Even if that involved using the little time off they had to discuss cases, it was refreshing and even challenging, with Yukimura’s passion for justice. But on a night like this one, where people had died and there were still cases unsolved, Yukimura’s company made Sanada edgy. Yukimura’s flawless police career, with one of the highest productivity rates, was a reminder of what Sanada had yet to achieve, of how he had failed the people he had sworn to protect and serve.

He grunted in affirmation, before taking a long sip of his coffee. Yukimura sat on the chair in front of him and absently opened a folder, checking what Sanada could assume were the morning reports. Sanada tried unsuccessfully to not stare but it was hard, when he was aching to ask how the other was doing, when the desire of reaching forward and touching him was still there. Yet, that wasn’t work related, thus entirely forbidden by their mutual agreement after things had gotten _complicated_ two months ago. Instead, Sanada looked away and took another drink of his bitter coffee.

They stayed in silence, as Yukimura went through several sheets of paper and Sanada resisted the urge to rub his eyes. He couldn’t remember when the last time he had gone home was. The day before yesterday, maybe?

“A new murder case,” Yukimura said, “A messy one. It’s probably a robbery gone wrong by the look of things...”

“Yes, I thought so too. Yanagi is already examining the body,” Sanada replied to the implied question. “I was about to go down to--”

“How long has he had the body?” Yukimura interrupted him and Sanada blinked a few times, a little confused at the question. He looked at the clock on the wall, a chill settling in his gut as the realization set in. He knew where this was heading.

“I think… two hours…” Sanada replied, with barely contained frustration. Yanagi was one of the best medical examiners out there and his work was known for being precise and fast. On average, he had a report ready in an hour and a half and that meant Sanada was already late. Granted, Sanada had acted as a reinforcement in a combini robbery case on his way to the station that had taken longer than expected, and at his arrival, he had corrected some young officer’s mistakes here and there. Still, he knew that wasn’t an excuse for not being at the morgue on time.

“And you are still here because…?” Yukimura didn’t look up from where he was scribbling notes and Sanada was grateful because he could feel his cheeks burning in shame. He tugged his police cap down and stood up.

“Yes, sir.”

 

 

-·-

 

There was something eerily about the morgue that always made Sanada frown in unveiled disgust. People were more than the individual parts of biological composition that defined them as humans. Even though he could understand how useful tagging people with case numbers was, and how cutting them open helped to better understand what happened to them, it still felt like a violation to the lives they had once had.

Sanada cringed slightly as the smell of chemicals and death hit him, once he entered the morgue, so he applied some menthol salve to ward from it.

“I have your report already, Genichirou,” Yanagi said, not looking up from where he was examining one of the tattoos on the corpse’s arm. “It’s on the table over there.”

“Thank you, Renji.” Sanada nodded and ignored the folder for the time being, and came closer to the examination table instead. The report would be necessary for the administrative part of the work, but everything he needed to know he would hear it from Yanagi himself. “I’m sorry that I took longer to come down this time…”

“We’ve had some quite eventful nights lately, haven’t we?” Yanagi said, tracing the tattoo with his gloved index finger once more, before finally looking up and taking his protective goggles off. “I understand. May I offer you a flask of tea? I know you will decline, yet I decide to trust the slight possibility one day you will accept my request.”

Sanada shook his head no, a small smile forming on his face. People tended to label Yanagi as a scary unreachable genius. They were partially right, but that wasn’t the whole picture. If you treated him with respect and kindness, you got the same in return. “I don’t mind if you do, though.”

Yanagi nodded gratefully, before discarding his gloves and standing up to pick up a flask on his desk. He took a couple of small sips, with his eyes closed as if he was centering himself, and put it away afterwards. Then, he opened his eyes and looked past Sanada and straight to the body. “Let’s start now, shall we?”

For the next ten minutes, Sanada listened intently at every word that came from Yanagi’s mouth. Smoothly, as if he was reciting ancient poetry, Yanagi told him all you could learn from a dead body. From broken bones back in childhood and testifying proof of a recovering addiction to smoking, to the cause of death of the young man: blood loss caused by stabbing wounds in several parts of his body, mostly soft tissue and organs. If it hadn’t been stabbed to death, he would have lived a very healthy life, according to Yanagi. There weren’t any DNA matches with police registers, no birthmarks either but for a mole in the chin, no missing person report for a man with his complexion. The identity of the silver-haired young man was still unknown.

“I know you are thinking that it matches the profile of robbery gone wrong, and you might be right. Still…” Yanagi picked up a new glove and touched one of the wounds, “This bothers me. This is uncommon and an oddity. Can you tell me why, Genichirou?”

Sanada stared intently at the wound and shrugged after a while.

“Not really, it looks like a clean stab to me.”

“Exactly. It is too clean. The person who stabbed Case 23AY4 knew how to do it --they had a sharp tool too,” Yanagi said and then grabbed one of the subject’s hand to show his fingers. “This is important too. He has no fingerprints, they’ve been burned off. The scarring tissue suggest this occurred at least one to two years ago.”

Sanada frowned. Someone that willingly burned their fingerprints off were never up to any good. Was the man in front of them a criminal as well?

“Anything else, Renji?”

“His tattoos are quite unique…” Yanagi said, and he raised the arm for Sanada to see.

“Is that a fox?”

“No, it’s a coyote. The coyotes differ from foxes on--”

“Do you think they could mean something to the investigation?”

“Not really, I just thought they were beautiful,” Yanagi sighed and carefully placed the young man’s arm on the table.

“Now, I believe you should get some rest, Genichirou. Judging by the paleness and dehydration of your skin, and your pupils going in and out of focus unintentionally, you’ve spent at least forty four hours without sleep. You usually resort to stimulants to avoid the symptoms of sleep deprivation, by drinking coffee. Black, no cream, two spoons of sugar. Taking into account that caffeine starts working after the first ten minutes of ingestion and we’ve been together over half an hour, the chances that Seii- Chief Inspector Yukimura sent you here before you even finished your coffee are 97%.”

Sanada said nothing. He pulled his hat off, smoothed his hair down and put it back on, frowning.

“Crime never sleeps or stops, why would I?”

Yanagi sighed and Sanada had the impression he was refraining from saying something. Sanada wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what.

“Seiichi will get over it with time, Genichirou. Don’t be too hard on him… or yourself.”

“Right. I’ll go now.”

 

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

“Do you realize this endoscopy was due two days ago?” Yagyuu raised an eyebrow as he skipped over the medical note the patient had handed over to the desk nurse. They had called Yagyuu when they had refused him the service and the man had become obnoxiously stubborn. Even if the procedure was not complicated and could be done in half an hour, it involved at least two specialists and the use of an OR.

“Well yes, but I didn’t have time two days ago!” The man snapped back, his face turning red in anger. Yagyuu remained unfazed. This wasn’t an uncommon happening --people lacking common sense. He wished he could attribute it to the fact it was past midnight, but in reality, people were rather stupid on a regular basis, regardless of the time. “It’s your job! You can’t deny me medical attention!”

“Would you be so kind to read the sign over there, sir?” Yagyuu said and wondered if he had ever thought about this side of practicing medicine, of having to deal with this nonsense, when he was a student.

“Eh? Which one?” The man looked around, confused, but finally doing what he was told to do. That was indeed progress.

“The one with bright, large red letters, if you may.” No, he had never thought about this part of being a doctor, he had been too invested in being the top of the class, and having perfect marks in every assignment. Naively, he had thought that would guarantee saving every life he held in his hands.

“Emergency Room?”

“Very good. Now, what do you think we do in here?” That, of course, was far from the reality. It didn’t guarantee anything in the end, neither having a place in large hospitals nor doing medical investigations and making breakthrough discoveries. Nor saving the life of your best friend.

“You cure people. That’s why you need to do this procedure now!”

Ah, so much for progress. Yagyuu threw a side glance to the security guard next the glass doors.

“No, we treat medical situations that endanger a patient’s life. If you can wait two days to seek medical attention, and I don’t see you bleeding to death, I assume you went to a lowly qualified doctor because of its cheapness and have you a wrong diagnosis. If you truly wish to submit yourself to an unnecessary procedure involving shoving a metal tube down your throat for whatever reason -we don’t really judge how people’s direct their lives, you can certainly wait another six hours and get it done properly by the clinic downst--”

Yagyuu calmly moved to the side to dodge the fist directed at his face. The security guard was already there, manhandling the man out the Emergency Room. Unorthodox but a useful way to get rid of undesirable people and getting them banned from the ER: trying to get some common sense into them.

“Doctor! Are you alright?!”The nurse was next to him, in an instant and Yagyuu moved away from her as well, startled.

“Don’t touch me,” Yagyuu hissed and the nursed looked at him, worried. Yagyuu coughed to clear his throat and gave her one of his well-practiced, charming smiles. “I’m alright. I’ll be in my office if anything comes up, I’m sure Kanata-san will take care of not letting that man back in, so you shouldn’t worry about that.”

He didn’t wait for answer and hurried back to his office.

“Yagyuu-san, do you have a moment?” Yagyuu stopped dead in his tracks when his name was called, and recognizing the voice he knew he couldn’t get away with ignoring. He turned around and bowed down politely.

“Deputy Director Abukara-san, it’s a surprise seeing you here at this hour. Is something the matter?”

“Not tonight, not tonight,” The man said and smiled slightly. “I’ve heard you’ve been having some lively nights lately and thought of visiting you and see how things are doing myself.”

“As you can see there is nothing for you to worry about,” Yagyuu said, pushing his glasses up. “We are always overworked, of course. Even more so when our staff is _lacking_ in the responsibility department.”

“Ah yes, I reviewed your complaint. I shall take disciplinary actions as according. It’s unacceptable to not be at work during work hours.” Abukara said and Yagyuu nodded, pleased.

“Those are mistakes that can’t be tolerated, they put people’s lives in danger,” Yagyuu said, bowing again. The memories of Niou’s blood-covered body flashed through his mind and for a moment, he wondered if having an anesthesiologist instead of the anesthetic tower would have made a difference for Niou. He shook his head ‘no’, Niou had long since passed the point where he could have been saved, that moment had been long before he’d arrived.

“Yes, they do. We can’t let our system to be as faulty as the police, can we? I can’t believe this is turning into such a dangerous area for gang members and robbers to be roaming around. What if had been a civilian?”

“Excuse me?”

“The man that died? The nurses’ report suggest he looked like a thug,” the man shrugged it off and Yagyuu felt too dumbstruck for words. “I trust that you took care of handing over all the paperwork, Yagyuu. We don’t want a problem with the police for something like this.”

Yagyuu nodded, numbly. _Gang members and robbers._

“Ah I know my ER is in perfect care if you are around, Hiroshi. You are as good as your father was, in his times of glory.”

“Thank you, sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do still,” Yagyuu rasped out and bowed before passing past Abukara. It wasn’t until Yagyuu’s office door was firmly shut and he was leaning heavily onto it, that he realized he was shaking. _A thug_.

It was probably the adrenaline of almost being hit and hearing someone dismissing someone’s life worth because of prejudice. Maybe it was the questionable amount of stimulants he had taken to overcome his insomnia. Funny, because he had never suffered from it in the past. Apparently, having flashes of how your best friend had died in your hands could provoke it. Yagyuu ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Thirty six hours without sleep. He had done it before but it wasn’t the best state to practice medicine, to say the least.

 _Niou_.

He wondered if attending a proper funeral would make it ache less. It was a selfish thought, but he didn’t really care. Niou wouldn’t have wanted the polite hypocrisy of the attendees, and he didn’t have any family left that Yagyuu had known of. Niou was just gone and nothing was going to change that. Yagyuu pulled the silver lighter out his robe pocket and clutched it tightly.

From the moment he had seen the letters appear, he hadn’t lit it up. There was a chance the words hadn’t been there at all. Doubt was better than a disappointing certainty, wasn’t it?

_“Puri.”_

No, he needed to know.

Yagyuu lit it up and let it heat, until the nonsensical scribblings appeared once more. No, they couldn’t be nonsensical, Niou never did anything lightly. They were a domain and a password and were clearly meant to be on there. The real question was why? Memories flashed through Yagyuu’s mind, of the last brief moments he shared with Niou. The nurse had called him because a severely wounded patient had arrived.

_“…excessive bleeding, walked in, presented resistance to being treated, in and out of consciousness...”_

The OR, Niou fighting off the nurses, Yagyuu had suggested tying him down but Niou had recognized him and stopped struggling.

Yagyuu opened his eyes wide, his breath caught in his throat as realization hit him hard. Niou hadn’t walked to the ER to get medical attention, he had come to see _him_.

“Switch.”

The metal clashed against the floor, breaking the silence, as it turned too hot for Yagyuu to hold it anymore.

Whatever Niou had started, Yagyuu was supposed to finish it off.

 

 

-·-

 

Yagyuu rubbed his eyes from under his glasses and yawned. Tiredness and lack of sleep was finally taking its toll on him. He searched blindly for his coffee, only to find the cup empty. Yagyuu checked the time on his wristwatch -it was well past noon- and sighed heavily. His kitchen table was completely covered by sheets of papers and after three hours of reviewing and analyzing them one by one, they were finally in order.

He had logged into the account scribbled on the lighter, as soon as he arrived home. Yagyuu hadn’t known what to expect. It had been foolish of him to secretly hope for a video explaining an elaborate joke of some kind. Instead, he got hundreds of bank states, invoices for medical supplies and equipment and receipts for honorary fees. Most of them were vague about what they referred to, but after a decade of working in hospitals, and a lifetime of dealing with his father’s business, Yagyuu could elucidate this mess. It was the balance of a health institution of some kind, and a shady one if they needed to resort to these schemes to avoid paying taxes. False names, inflated expenses and deductible fees, most likely false charity affiliates…

Yagyuu sighed. He knew that Niou had worked in information trafficking from time to time, with how gifted he was at IT and his ridiculous fascination with danger. Yagyuu didn’t know the details, because he had refused to listen to them, so he could pledge plausible deniability in a court. Now, he wished he knew more. Why would Niou want him to know about this?

If Niou wanted the police to know about this, he could have handed over the information himself. Why would Niou drag _him_ into this? Yagyuu groaned loudly, in frustration.

The lighter was heavy in this hand. Yagyuu flicked it open and lit it.

Niou had sacrificed his precious last minutes which could have saved his life to reach Yagyuu, and had made sure to keep the message a secret from all but him.

Yagyuu flicked it off and on again.

Niou wanted them to switch, so Niou wanted Yagyuu to act like Niou, just like when they had been teenagers. The question was for what.

Standing up, Yagyuu walked to his room and opened his closet. Roads of clothes and shoes lay there neatly folded and in perfect order by style and color. It wasn’t hard for Yagyuu to reach a medium sized box in the back. Kneeling on the floor, he took a deep breath before opening it. As he expected, the contents were still there.

Yagyuu knew that there was only one way to find out the truth behind Niou’s murder. The silver wig and the set of small, shiny keys glinted from the inside of the box and Yagyuu swallowed heavily as he realized exactly what he was going to have to do to get to the bottom of this.

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

Sanada looked down at the photography set on his desk and frowned. There wasn’t any significant progress to find the culprit from the Case 23AY4. He had followed the blood trail left by the deceased subject, up to three blocks away from the hospital but any other clue had been washed away by the rain that had fallen shortly after. The scene investigation team had been efficient, he couldn’t tolerate any less, but still they were at a loss, without a trail to follow. Since the subject didn’t have any fingerprints, the search for the man’s identity had to be done using other physical features. It took longer and it was prone to error, but it was all they had.

It did look like a robbery gone wrong and Sanada was sure the most sensible thing to do was to just close the case and increase the patrols on the zone to prevent something like this from happening again. If they didn’t get a lead to follow soon, Yukimura would demand to leave it for other cases that could be actually solved. Sanada couldn’t agree with that, everyone deserved justice, but still, he realized that wasted time could result in less cases solved in the long run.

“Inspector Sanada-san, I got what you asked for!” Officer Kirihara Akaya said, rushing through Sanada’s door without knocking. He was new, young and reckless but he had potential. Or so Yukimura said; Sanada was mostly annoyed at him. Young people shouldn’t join the forces for fame or for prestige. It was about protecting and serving, about proving something to oneself instead of proving it to another. Kirihara was bratty and had problems following orders if they weren’t Yukimura’s. Come to think about it, Sanada was starting to believe that had been the exact reason why Yukimura had put him under Sanada’s care.

“You found out our subject’s identity?”

Kirihara shifted on his spot and looked away.

“Well, not _exactly_. I got an address. You see there is a tattoo parlor like five blocks away from here? The guy knows this other guy that has this rad shop across the city and…” Kirihara continued and Sanada glared at him. This was what annoyed him, the lack of discipline. Duty was duty and shouldn’t be mixed with informality or that carefree attitude. Kirihara cringed a little from the weight of the stare. “Anyway, that other guy knows our guy. He said his name was Trickster, which totally is a nickname of some kind, and that’s useless to us. But, he said he had gone to our guy’s flat a few times, to have some beer and stuff. He looked really freaked out to find out he was dead.”

Sanada outstretched his hand and Akaya handed over the notebook. Finally they were heading somewhere. Trails and clues were just suppositions until proven to be true, still it was a good start.

“Great. I’ll go now and check this place,” Sanada said standing up and grabbing his coat. It was still daylight and it would be an easy recognition visit. As Kirihara made attempt to follow, Sanada arched an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Kirihara asked at the sudden stop.

Sanada frowned.

“Shit. What, _sir_?”

“Where are you going?”

“With you…” Kirihara said but he caught up quickly, “…not. But Sanada-san! I was the one that found about the place, I deserve to go!”

“This is not a competition, this is teamwork. You are going to the morgue and tell Yanagi about this. He is the one helping me digging information from the police old records by the subject’s tattoos. Maybe the name will help him to speed things up,” Sanada deadpanned and for a moment it looked like Kirihara was about to protest, but decided against it in the end. Doing community service and supervising traffic at school zones the last time he had back-talked had worked into making him a more reasonable young man. Good, he was a fast learner.

“Yes, sir,” Kirihara grumbled and Sanada nodded, looking pleased. “You’ll report to me what you learned from Yanagi today.”

Kirihara nodded, looking wary but Sanada didn’t pay mind to it. He finally had a trail to follow and he didn’t have time to waste.

 

 

-·-

 

The building looked like it was about to crumble around him and with each step Sanada took, the staircase cracked and crunched dangerously. He tried to keep his feet as light as he could, to avoid disturbing the other occupants of the apartment complex. Even if his police badge was not visible under his coat, Sanada knew his presence would stand out in a place like this, complicating his mission. The only ones that liked police were the ones that needed them, and only in those occasions.

When he reached the number that was scribbled on the paper, he tried to knock on the door but it was already open. Sanada frowned slightly, all of his senses tingling at the possibility of danger.

“Hello?” he called before pushing the door open with care and stepping in. Sanada took a good look at the place. It would have looked like a one-person apartment with only the basics to get by daily, if it wasn’t for all computers along one of the farthest walls. Sanada felt a shiver down his spine, this wasn’t a good omen. Neither was the state of the the small living room, a mess of papers and furniture all over the place. Something had happened in here, not so long ago, judging by the lack of dust on most of the things. Silently, he reached for his gun on his belt and his torch, and took a defensive stance.

Even though the sky outside was bright grey, with the heavy curtains blocking out the light, the darkness covered everything. There was something rustling, near him, and he aimed his gun at the thing without a second thought but when he turned around, there was nothing there. Sanada could hear his heartbeat in his ears, loud and clear.

Something fell over in the next room and someone cursed under his breath.

“This is the police! Come out with your hands in the air, that is an order!” Sanada shouted, his voice was like thunder resonating through the thin walls and breaking the eerie silence. Sanada’s hand didn’t shake when he pointed towards where the sound had emerged. If there was someone there, he would need to come out from that door. Sanada was covered. “Now!”

Suddenly, there was movement from behind him and Sanada turned around but he saw nothing there. At the same time, a shadow moved from the darkened room where he had been aiming a gun at before, and Sanada cursed at the moment of distraction. “Stop where you are! Put your hands where I can see them!”

As the light of the lantern hit the man’s back, Sanada saw a strike of silver hair. The man’s back stayed facing Sanada and he started to walk, slowly, near one of the windows.

“I said stop!”

The figure stopped.

“Raise your hands!”

And the man did so.

Without dropping his gun, Sanada came forwards, already reaching for a pair of handcuffs. Just as he was about to grab the man’s arm to twist it behind his back, the man looked over his shoulder and Sanada took a look at his face.

Sanada gasped and staggered back. This couldn’t be real. He had seen this man dead, cut open on Yanagi’s table. _A ghost._

“Puri,” the ghost said with a smirk and ran towards one of curtain covered windows. The sound of crystal shattering filled the room and the man was gone. Sanada ran after him, trying to stop him but the man had jumped down the street below. It was just one story down and the man was already staggering to his feet and running away.

Without a second thought, Sanada sprang into action, but before he could climb over the window frame to give chase, the window next to it shattered. He covered his face with his arms to protect it from harm. _What the…?_

A shadow was shooting at him from the hallway. Sanada hurried to take cover behind one of the ruined couches, so he could return fire. He felt one of his knees heavily impacting the floor. Shit. The shadow kept on shooting without giving him an opening, and Sanada could feel it approaching his hiding place. Sanada pulled out another of his guns and with both weapons aimed at the door, he returned fire; his stare fierce and fearless as the adrenaline of the crossfire fueled his veins. He heard a cry of pain and the bullets stopped, the figure choosing to flee rather than finish him.

Sanada ran after it, as fast as he could with his injured knee, until he felt the light of the day hit him hard on the face. The street was deserted.

The shadow and the ghost were gone.

“Goddamit!”

 

 

-·-

 

Sanada took a deep breath and leant against the police infirmary wall. It felt cold and refreshing against his back. Despite the soothing sensation, he felt no comfort. He was wasting really important time. Yes, Sanada had several scratches and cuts on his face and hands, and he had pulled a ligament on his knee, but he was alright. That was nothing, he could be back in duty already. Nor there was any need for a full checkup, yet, the doctor had insisted, and when Sanada resisted, he had called Yukimura and informed him of the situation. Such a low move. Sanada couldn’t disobey a direct order, so he gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure it, hoping it would end soon. He just needed to wait for another twenty minutes for the rest of the medications to kick in, and he would be ready to leave. Or maybe less; with the doctor gone, he could sneak his way back to his office and revise the evidence they had.

“Are you alright, Genichirou?” came Yanagi’s worried voice from the other side of room, and Sanada opened his eyes.

“Renji.”

“I came as soon as I knew. What happened?” Yanagi said and Sanada groan inwardly at the whole police station finding out he was injured. At least Kirihara hadn’t tagged along, so maybe there was hope that the news had stayed within the upper circles.

“Went to check one of the leads of the case, the subject’s house. It was compromised,” Sanada fell silent there. There wasn’t much he could say about the incident, he hadn’t seen the face of his attacker, after all. As for the other part, it was better if Sanada kept it to himself. He didn’t need to add he was crazy, to the rumors that were circulating already.

“You are not telling me something,” Yanagi said quietly, as he casually sat next to him and Sanada realized how awkward the other looked outside of his examination room. “Is it because you don’t trust me to not tell Seiichi? It’s alright, you know I won’t tell him anything. It’s been awhile since you were in a shooting. Three hundred and four days, since what happened to Seiichi. It’s alright to be upset. Situations like this can successfully trigger painful memories…”

“No… it’s…” Sanada bit his lip; if there was someone safe to speak his mind to, it was Yanagi. He could tell him what happened and he wouldn’t be judged for it. It was better to chase other people’s ghosts than his own. “I saw him, our subject. He was there, alive.”

“He is dead, Genichirou,” Yanagi deadpanned, looking serious all of sudden. “I cleaned the body myself. People don’t come back from death. It’s not possible. Maybe a twin? It’s a slight chance, but still a possibility.”

Sanada shook his head. “It was him, Renji, I’m sure. I didn’t see him alive before, but it felt like this was our subject. I... don’t know. It happened before the shooting, I couldn’t chase him.”

“You are thinking it was his ghost, don’t you?”

“I already know how silly it sounds, you don’t need to point it out,” Sanada snapped back.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to antagonize you. Thank you for trusting me.” Yanagi’s lips curved slightly upwards and Sanada had a hard time thinking he was not being made fun of.

“It was probably just a trick of the light, I was biased.” Sanada shook his head. He needed to get rid of that thought and focus and finding the culprit, and the one that had shot him. He didn’t have time for silly things like this.

“I thought of making your stay more tolerable. So I brought you what I found out,” Yanagi said, trying to lift the mood, and handed over Sanada a folder. Sanada’s face lit up at that.

“So do we have a name?”

“Two actually; he was arrested twice, or at least that we have registered because of his tattoos, and he signed by a different name each time. They were minor offenses, once for drunk driving without a license and once for damaging public property -he wrote “fuck the police” under a bridge,” Yanagi seemed amused by that. Sanada couldn’t really tell why, but he had long forsaken the futile attempt to try and figure Yanagi out completely.

Sanada opened the folder and looked down at it. “So which ones are they?”

“Niou Masaharu and Yagyuu Hiroshi”

“Yagyuu Hir--?”

“Sanada, Yanagi…”

Sanada looked up and saw Yukimura standing there in the infirmary. Yukimura looked back at him and the silence was heavy between them. Yanagi had pulled away when Yukimura had come in and Sanada felt naked in front of Yukimura’s powerful piercing stare. “I’m glad you are alright. Stop getting foolishly injured, it’s unsightly.”

Sanada swallowed hard, and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

For a moment, it looked like Yukimura was about to take a step forward and say something more. Sanada tensed and could feel how Yanagi held his breath next to him. Finally, Yukimura turned his back at them.

“Ah, Yuki—Chief Inspector Yukimura, we have a lead on the murder case.”

“You _had_. We caught the murderer already, an hour ago. Atobe’s team. The culprit tried to pawn a golden chain from the victim. He already confessed, this case is closed now. You got uselessly hurt for nothing, Sanada,” Yukimura said, and Sanada was sure the strong disappointment in Yukimura’s voice hurt more than any injury in his knee.

Or taking a bullet to the chest.

“I…”

“You two get back to work, cases won’t get solved by their own.”

And then Yukimura left without looking back.

 

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

Yagyuu held his breath as he pulled the small fragments of glass out of his left forearm with tweezers. Apparently, Yagyuu had forgotten how painful being Niou could turn out to be. It wasn’t like Niou was purposely reckless; he just happened to assume he could always get away from the consequences of his actions. It hadn’t been the smartest decision to just jump out of a window when the police had come to Niou’s house, but it was definitely better than being found there impersonating his dead best friend.

The last piece of glass clattered on the metal plate and Yagyuu sighed, relieved. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief, then poured antiseptic on the whole arm. Yagyuu hissed in pain, as he scrubbed with a gauze on the cuts and scratches. Thankfully, most of them were small, and butterfly bandages would suffice but there were at least three that would need some stitches.

Applying some local anesthesia, he bit his lip down as he worked the cuts over, regretting doing it with only one hand. The stitches wouldn’t be at the level of finesse he was used to and that was annoying. Still, it wasn’t like he could go and ask a colleague for assistance without raising suspicions and questions he didn’t want to give an answer to. After finishing with his arm, he covered it all with a simple bandage.

Yagyuu took his glasses off and put them on the table so he could drop his head back and stare blindly at the empty ceiling of his small living room. He was tired, exhausted. He closed his eyes for a moment, as he let the mix of sensations and feelings wash over him. Yagyuu wasn’t sure what ached and what was being numbed by the painkillers and anesthesia. He knew there should be pain, both emotional and physical, but the signal wasn’t being recognized by his brain. If the pain couldn’t be felt, was it even real?

He opened his eyes, slowly, letting them adjust to the light. With his wounds tended, it was time for Yagyuu to check the information he had found in Niou’s house.

It had been a surprise to say in the least, to come and find the apartment turned upside down. Whoever had killed Niou was probably trying to get back the information Niou had gotten on them, or to make it disappear. Of course, it had been useless. Niou didn’t think like most people, and they had searched in the wrong places.

For Yagyuu, though, it had been easy to knock on the tiles in the bathroom until he found the hollowed one. Inside, there had been a USB drive and the feeling of success was mixed with the utmost frustration by the lack of an explanatory note or something that could give Yagyuu a clue.

The screen blinked in front of him, reading the information. Yagyuu scrolled through the several folders and files, most of them were a recovery copy from what he had found in Niou’s account. There were some new folders with similar information and some compressed files as well; he would check them later, when he had rested some and could process it better. He was about to take a break and maybe get some sleep before having to wake up to work, Yagyuu reached a video file.

He pushed his glasses up and pushed play.

There was a table full of documents and sheets, the lighting was poor but enough to figure it out they were the same kind of documents Yagyuu had revised before.

_“So yeah…”_

Yagyuu’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of Niou’s voice.

 _“This is what I got so far. It’s fucked up, man, really fucked up.”_ The camera came closer to the documents and as Niou’s hand got into focus and moved the first layer of sheets, Yagyuu saw some pictures underneath. There was picture of a group of kids, of different ages, posing as if it was a class picture. Then, Niou’s hand opened a folder and there was file, a medical note and another a profile picture of one of the kids from before, clearly after his death.

 _“They pose as goodwill organizations, then they fucking kill them. Who is going to miss a sick orphan or a homeless woman in an asylum? Just that they aren’t sick, they are being kept healthy to trade their organs later on,”_ Even though Niou’s voice was low, as if he was whispering, the contempt in his voice was palpable. _“They are making fucking millions out of ripping apart people and giving their organs for the rich fucks who can pay. This is a whole market system; they are organized, they have all the facilities to do the whole process, orphanages, shelters, asylums, hospitals, crematories, they are even working overseas.…”_

Niou’s hand crumbled a piece of paper, until his knuckles were white. The camera focused in every progressing sicker picture. _“I’m trying to save as much info as I get and I’m meeting someone today. I don’t know if he’s legit or not. Police are fucked up too. They have to be too because they are letting this happen.”_

There was some silence then, but for Niou’s quiet breathing. _“I gotta stop this… this is sick.”_

The video went off. Yagyuu felt like he was going to throw up.

 

 

-·-

 

“Doctor?” The desk nurse came over Yagyuu as soon as he entered the ER.

“Good evening,” Yagyuu bowed politely, regretting it immediately as he saw white for a moment. Nothing like a complicated, busy shift, for a migraine to start developing. “Is there a problem, Nanami-san?”

“There is a police officer waiting for you,” Nanami said as she handed Yagyuu the reports from the day shift. Yagyuu immediately started to shuffle between them, giving them an overall check. “I asked about the incidents of the day shift and Haruka-san told me there was a rape case earlier in the morning, maybe it’s related to that.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you, Nanami-san, I’ll take it over from here,” Yagyuu said, forcing a polite smile to his face as he started to walk to his office. Indeed, there was a police officer there looking with interest at the documents on Yagyuu’s desk. Arching an eyebrow, Yagyuu cleared his throat.

“May I help you with something Officer…?”

“Inspector Sanada. I believe we’ve met already, Doctor Yagyuu?” The officer said, turning around to face him. Yagyuu was taken aback for a moment at the sound of the voice, it felt familiar. Was he the policeman that had raided Niou’s day earlier that day? Yagyuu’s face was impassive and calm. He couldn’t prove anything so Yagyuu had nothing to worry about.

“Is that so?” Yagyuu said, without moving from his spot on the door.

“I’m the Inspector in charge of investigating the murder of…” Sanada started and Yagyuu swallowed hard. Even if the memories of that morning were a bit blurry in his memory, he easily recalled the face of the police officer now. That could mean that he was the police at Niou’s house too. This was probably just a routine checkup in the case. There was no way the police officer had managed to identify him as Niou’s doppelganger.

“Niou Masaharu, yes. Is there something do you need regarding the case, Inspector?” Yagyuu replied nonchalantly, “I believe my report was in order?”

“Oh it was, and actually legible.” Sanada leaned onto the desk, crossing his arms over his chest and making himself at home. Yagyuu looked at him expectantly, pretending that he couldn’t hear his own heartbeat in his ears. “I was wondering if you knew anything else about the case.”

“I’m afraid not,” Yagyuu said, trying to sound apologetic. “Wouldn’t that be your job, Sanada-san?”

“It is, indeed. That’s why I’m here.” Sanada said, looking rather intimidating as he looked down at Yagyuu. Not that it was going to work, of course. Yagyuu straightened his back and raised his chin. “He was stabbed, right?”

“Yes, I wrote it in the report.”

“What would you think would be the murderer weapon?”

“I wouldn’t know --I was too preoccupied with stopping the internal bleeding,” Yagyuu deadpanned.

“Our medical examiner presumed it to be a sharp, thin blade; like one of those used by surgeons in operation rooms. He said that the one that committed the crime knew how to use it, as if he had great domain over it,” Sanada continued, not looking away from Yagyuu, as he wanted to pierce him with his stare. Yagyuu was starting to feel really uncomfortable with the whole situation, for both coldly discussing Niou’s death and the fact that it felt like he was being interrogated as a suspect.

“And the point you are trying to make is….?”

“Do you know anyone that could have something against him? One that has access to medical instruments and tools like those?”

“Are you sure you are asking the right person, Inspector? There is no way I would know that, I was just the doctor in charge when Niou came in,” Yagyuu said, trying to shrug it off. Sanada looked like Yagyuu had personally offended him.

“Well, you were his friend.” Yagyuu felt like the earth under his feet was crumbling, making him feel like he had fallen into a void. On the outside, the only emotion he displayed was his hand tightening its hold on the clipboard.

“Maybe you two fought?” Sanada continued and pushed himself off the desk, coming closer to Yagyuu with every word he said. “Do you two have a disagreement? You weren’t on board in keep on doing illegal activities maybe, too risky for you. So you wanted him out of the picture?”

Yagyuu refused to take a step back and show he was being intimidated by the man, even if Sanada was just a few inches away from him.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“If that’s true, you won’t mind me taking your fingerprints now. They won’t match with the ones we found in his apartment,” Sanada reached for Yagyuu’s arm, gripping it tightly. Yagyuu winced and gritted his teeth as Sanada pressed on his recent injuries, before he roughly pulled his arm out of Sanada’s grasp.

“This is overruled and I could sue you for what you just did.” Yagyuu’s voice was low and dangerous. “Next time you come here, you’d better come with a warrant and solid proof of what you are saying, Inspector. Otherwise you won’t be any better than the criminals on the streets.”

“Oh believe me, I will return. I won’t stop until justice is served.”

“I’ll be here, saving the lives you failed to protect, then. Good evening, Inspector,” Yagyuu said, pointing at the door with his hand.

Sanada glared but did walk toward the exit. When Sanada came to Yagyuu, he tensed, expecting another aggression but instead the police officer chuckled slightly.

“You know, I never mentioned the case victim’s name. You did. You knew who I was talking about and lied about not knowing anything about this. We’ll definitely see each other again, doctor. Good evening.”

 

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

“Fuck, yeah!”

Sanada looked up from where he was revising some of the documents they found in Niou’s house. The police IT specialist, Marui Bunta, was stretching on his chair with a very smug smile on his face.

“I told you I was a genius, didn’t I? I totally did,” Marui said, before he popped his bubblegum. Sanada’s right eyebrow twitched.

“And I told you that you needed to throw that away,” Sanada growled but stood up, trying to navigate through the majority of the mess of documents and computers that were stacked up in the small space that was Sanada’s office. Every single piece of evidence found in Niou’s apartment was brought there to be examined and investigated. Usually, there were rooms designated for that but since the investigation was being kept under the rug, they had used Sanada’s office. Thankfully, there were still officers that trusted Sanada’s authority and judgement to give him a helpful hand if he asked for it. The fact that Sanada didn’t mention Yukimura’s orders to close the case was just a small detail.

“Show me what you got.” Sanada didn’t like disobeying direct orders, but he was sure there was more in this case than a simple robbery gone wrong. There was something in his gut that told him that this wasn’t over, that this was just the top of the iceberg. Yet, to obtain resources from the police force and present the case to Yukimura -to make him listen to him, Sanada needed strong solid proof that this was the right path.

“Okay, remember we got nothing when we checked them the first time?” Marui wasn’t really expecting an answer but Sanada grumbled an affirmation anyway. “I kicked the firewall down and got into the files… they were erased but I just finished recovering them.”

Sanada’s grinned, satisfied.

“Good job. Akaya should be here anytime now. With this and what I sent him to collect, we’ll have some good---”

“Sanada, what’s the meaning of this?” Sanada looked up to see Assistant Commissioner Utada at the door, looking quite puzzled at the state Sanada’s office was in. Sanada stood up immediately and bowed before he pulled Marui up by the hem of his shirt and forced him to do the same.

“Assistant Commissioner, we’re working on a case...” Sanada started but was interrupted by Utada almost immediately.

“I can certainly see that. I’m curious as to why you are using your office as a storage room. What case is this?” Assistant Commissioner extended a hand and Sanada handed over Niou’s file. Utada checked it over, frowning a little. “Wasn’t this case already closed? I remember the report, the culprit confessed after being arrested.”

“I know it was declared just a murder but new discoveries have made us believe it was caused in order to cover up a ring of corruption and organ trafficking. I have reasons to believe that the person we caught was a decoy to stop a possible investigation--”

“Those a very serious allegations, Sanada. Do you have any proof of it? Does Yukimura _know_ about this?” Utada didn’t seem pleased and if Yukimura’s name got involved in this before Sanada had a solid case with proof and a culprit, Sanada might as well be ‘Dishonorably Discharged’.

Sanada stood firm. “We have many incriminatory documents and an identified suspect, if you were to grant us the necessary warrants for a full investigation, we could—“

“You have a name? A real one, I mean.” There was no doubt that Utada wasn’t believing a word Sanada was saying.

“Yes,” Sanada replied, frowning. “Yagyuu Hiroshi, he’s the doctor that treated the victim before dying. We investigated his background, he belongs to a family of a well-known doctors and investors in the health business.”

“Yagyuu? As in Yagyuu Motohiro?”

“His son.”

“You are accusing the son of a well-respected member of the society, a philanthropist, of severe crimes and overruling a verdict by a judge. Would you risk your career over this? If you are wrong, you’ll taint the name of the police force with your reckless actions,” Utada’s threat was clear behind those words. Sanada nodded solemnly.

“Very well, then.”

Sanad held his breath until Assistant Commissioner was gone, his knuckles white with tension.

“Godda—“ Sanada jumped slightly when his telephone went off and he picked it up. Kirihara. “What?”

_“Yagyuu is on the move.”_

 

 

-·-

 

Sanada looked at himself in the rear view mirror, adjusting his coat and taking off his hat. He had followed Yagyuu to one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country, a hospital in which the Yagyuus were a large, vocal majority of the administrative board --something Sanada had found out through his investigation into the Yagyuu family. Sanada waited, patiently, inside his car for Yagyuu to come through one of the glass doors that led to the parking lot.

Trespassing would be more of a problem than it was worth, with how heavy the surveillance was. Sanada had decided to wait for him there. His superiors were fond of confessed felonies, then he would get them one. From what he had seen so far, Yagyuu could be just a link, but you could take down a tower if you removed the base.

Sanada got out the car, and stood by a column. The poor lighting in the secluded parking lot was enough to mask his presence from both the few cameras and other people passing by.

Soon enough, the sounds of steps resonated through the empty walls, strong and slightly hurried. Sanada peeked around the column and saw Yagyuu walking towards his car alone, hands exposed with no weapon on sight – his cue to begin.

For when Yagyuu realized someone was behind him, Sanada had him already pinned to his own car’s door, an arm twisted painfully behind his back.

“What--?” He gasped, struggling to get out of Sanada’s hold; Sanada smirked slightly as pressed Yagyuu’s arm down harder and roughly brought around the other arm to handcuff him. The pained grunts Yagyuu was letting slip were a nice plus, if Sanada was completely honest. “I-Inspector Sanada??! What do you think you are doing?!”

Sanada said nothing as he pushed Yagyuu around and manhandled him to Sanada’s police patrol, two cars away. Opening the door, he pushed him inside –head first-, to the back of the car. Yagyuu’s mix of surprised confusion and dread were more than worth the hassle of it all. Sanada slammed the door shut and hopped in the car himself.

Sanada stared at Yagyuu through the rearview mirror without saying a word, keeping eye contact and seeing how gradually paler he got with every passing moment. Good. Still, he wasn’t talking or trying to negotiate with Sanada, so he fastened his seatbelt before starting the engine and driving through the parking lot and out of the hospital grounds.

The sound of burning tires came as soon as Sanada got into the city traffic. The force of the sudden turn, made Yagyuu hit the door with his side, caught in the inertia with his hands bound behind his back. Sanada accelerated even more. Turning the siren on to alert the other cars, he drove like he was chasing a dangerous criminal through the congested streets and his life depended on it.

“Oh dear gods…” Yagyuu whispered, between gasps after Sanada made a very vicious turn, nearly being hit by two other cars. Sanada stared at Yagyuu through the rearview mirror again; he looked about to be sick. “Please watch the road…”

Sanada put his feet down, doing the exact opposite and Yagyuu pressed his eyes tightly in fright. Not long now. Sanada wasn’t really fond of these antics, but desperate times called for desperate measures and Yanagi had been right about how psychological intimidation of this kind would be more profitable for the case. The fear of crashing would be certainly worse for Yagyuu, who had faced car crash victims in his profession.

Another dangerous turn and Yagyuu was left face-down on the other side of the car. Sanada slowed down then, to let him get up again, and accelerated as soon the doctor was trying to sit again. Yagyuu yelped and tried to protect himself from the impact but it was useless.

When they reached a deserted part of the city, Sanada stopped. Yagyuu’s poker face was cracking and looked almost terrified. It was a long path that ended in a dead-end alley. Sanada let Yayuu take in his surroundings, as he pressed down on the gas and the car revved a few times. Sanada waited until Yagyuu realized what was going to happen, to grip the wheel tightly and accelerate fully, driving towards the wall.

Yagyuu cried out in horror.

“Stop! Stop! Please! Stop the car! I’ll do whatever you want! Just sto---”

Sanada hit the brakes and took a sudden turn, just in time for the car to drift to safety away from the wall. Sanada turned the car off, taking slow deep breaths to calm his own heartbeat. It was just a matter of time now. The engine of his car whizzed from the abuse –Jackal would probably weep about having to fix it later- and he could hear Yagyuu almost hyperventilating in the back. Sanada observed Yagyuu through the rearview mirror - he was painfully sprawled on his back because of the last turn. When Yagyuu finally sat upright again, Sanada saw how disheveled he was; he had lost his glasses and his usually perfectly combed hair was a complete mess. Yagyuu looked aghast.

“What do you want from me?” He said quietly, without a shadow of his formerly composed self.

“A confession. Names would give you less time in jail, probably.”

“From what?” And to Sanada’s dismay, Yagyuu sounded truly confused. Sanada frowned and turned to look at him.

“Admit you killed Niou Masaharu to prevent him from exposing the crime ring in the health system,” Sanada said calmly staring right into Yagyuu’s eyes, even if they seemed slightly unfocused without his glasses.

“What? I- I can’t…”

“I’m sure you can. Give me the names of those above you and proof to successfully convict them for murder and organ trafficking and I’ll see you get a good deal from the prosecutor. It’s a one-time offer. Otherwise, I’ll use the proof I have already to commit you and your father to a lifetime sentence.”

“What? I…” Yagyuu shook his head. “I can’t do that, I didn’t kill Niou.”

“You told on him, then? Talked to your father’s friends to get him out for you?”

“No, he was my best friend. I’m trying to finish what he started, to find who did that to him...” Yagyuu drifted off for a moment, before looking at Sanada. “Wait... did you say my father is involved? That’s… that’s not possible.”

And by how shaken and lost Yagyuu looked, Sanada feared he wasn’t acting.

“Tell me what you know about the people that killed Niou.”

“He… he left me a clue, I followed it. All the information was scattered around but I solved the puzzle. He was trying to expose an organ trafficking ring. False charities to breed people for their organs…”

“So that’s how they were getting the people,” Sanada murmured to himself, feeling repulsed. The lengths to which people went for money and power, taking advantage of people in need. He could feel himself shaking in repressed rage.

“I read all those documents myself, every single one of them. My father nor his associates’ names were there. I--”

“Fake accounts and strawmen to cover them up. It’s the most common in these cases. Our specialist found out secondary transactions and the real owners of those bank accounts,” Sanada said and Yagyuu became even paler, if that was even possible. “We thought the money that went to charities was a vague intent to redeem a guilty conscience. Guess we were wrong.”

Yagyuu was shaking visibly, and for a moment, Sanada felt bad for him. He had thought the young doctor was part of the criminals he was pursuing, but it appeared he had just got stuck in the middle of a very bad situation.

“My father isn’t involved in this. I can’t speak for his associates, but I know he wouldn’t agree to such thing…” Yagyuu said, firmly. “I can prove it. If you help me avenge Niou’s death and clean my father’s name, I can give the information I have on this to you.”

“I can swear on my honor to bring justice and punish those responsible for crimes committed. Whoever that might be.”

Yagyuu swallowed hard and stayed silent for a moment before nodding.

“Can you take the handcuffs off now, Sanada-san? I use my hands to operate and save people’s lifes, I wouldn’t like them to be amputated because of lack of oxygen,” Yagyuu said, closing his eyes and sighing heavily.

Sanada huffed, looking amused before getting out of the car to do just that.

 

 

-·-

 

“Inspector Sanada!” Kirihara ran to him as soon as Sanada entered the station. “I tried to stop them! But it’s _him_ so there’s only so much we can do!”

“What are you talking about?!” Sanada snapped at Kirihara, and shook him by the shoulders when he started babbling again. The fact that he was out of breath wasn’t helping either. “Calm down, Akaya! What happened?”

“He’s taking everything away. You need to hurry!” Akaya said and Sanada felt like the walls were closing in on him.

“Where?” Sanada said, but he was already on the go. He started jogging to his office, forcing Akaya to keep up with his pace. Many officers stopped what they were doing to stare at him, and Sanada knew this was not going to end well. Clenching his jaw, he took the last turn in the hallway that lead to his private office. The doors were open and officers were carelessly taking the evidence he got from Niou’s house out.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” he roared and few of them visibly cowered from him. Sanada pried a stack a papers from one of them, and placed it on a desk nearby. “You are interfering with a high priority investigation! Who gave you this order?”

“I did,” Yukimura’s voice was heard from inside his office and Sanada closed his eyes tightly. Slowly, he turned around to see Yukimura sitting on his now-empty desk. Yukimura’s face was coldly closed and Sanada didn’t recall having ever seen him that angry before. It was unsettling. “And unlike you, they are obeying it.”

Yukimura’s voice was hard, having an instant effect in Sanada’s body and conscience. “Chief Inspector Yukimura, I can explain. This case… there is more than we thought at first, a crime ring and or--”

“I believe I told you this case was closed, but you kept on insisting in dismissing the work of the rest of the force because you weren’t the one that caught the culprit,” Yukimura said looking at him and Sanada couldn’t understand how this high priority investigation had been so misinterpreted. “I’m disappointed on you. I thought you would be better than to get riled up in a foolish pride fight with Atobe, to see who got to solve the case.”

Sanada snapped.

“This has nothing to do with Atobe! This murder was to cover up a crime ring within the system! Breeding people to sell their organs to the highest bidder! We have proof, Yukimura!” How could Yukimura not see?

“Don’t you dare to raise your voice at me, Sanada,” Yukimura hissed and Sanada realized he had been shouting at his superior. “I just saved your ass from Utada, whom I now have on my tail, questioning if my personal relationships are an issue for the position I’ve spent years working to obtain!”

“You know I wouldn’t do that to you, Yukimura.” Sanada ran a hand through his hair, looking away. That had been one of the biggest issues that had brought everything they had to an end. If Yukimura hadn’t listened before, Sanada doubted he would do that now. “Alright, I disobeyed your order but I was searching for the evidence to bring a solid case to you! I would never make things up! I have enough evidence of my assumptions, we can prosecute successfully now!”

“With what evidence?”

“You are taking it away! I’ll show you the files and the documents, the bank statements, everything. If only you’d let me…”

“All this?” Yukimura said, gesturing towards the remnant of the papers in Sanada’s office. “It was evidence acquired illegally and without a warrant, overruling the verdict of a judge –whose wife is part of the administrative board you are accusing of chopping people up. We can’t use it in a case, if there was one. It won’t be accepted.”

Sanada tightened his fist and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from crying out in frustration.

“Wait! I can get new evidence on the case. I spoke to Yagyuu Hiroshi today, and he accepted to collaborate with us and give us the information he has…” They had agreed to meet the next day and make the exchange, because Yagyuu had said that he was still missing some of it and that he would need to visit his office to pick it up. If Sanada called him now, he surely could arrange a meeting sooner and convince Yukimura.

“Yagyuu Hiroshi? Is it the same Yagyuu Hiroshi that Utada told me you had as main suspect on the case?” Yukimura frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“The same. He is innocent, he was Nio--”

“For heaven’s sake, Sanada! You can’t just presume a person guilty and innocent the next second! This is not a game!” Yukimura huffed, sounding annoyed, and he pinched the bridge of his noise. Sanada started to say something but Yukimura raised a hand to silence him. Yukimura stayed silent and Sanada wanted to scream and shake him and make him see reason.

“You are suspended.”

“What?!”

“What you just heard. For a month. Hand over your gun and badge.” Yukimura’s voice didn’t give any opening to discussion, as he outstretched his hand. Sanada was shaking with rage and hopelessness at it all. “Now, if you don’t want it to become a six month suspension instead.”

Sanada tried unsuccessfully to swallow the bitterness in his mouth, as he roughly pulled his gun from his belt and put the safety lock on. He took off his badge and looked at it for a moment before handing over both to Yukimura. Or tried to, because he couldn’t make himself to take those final steps and just stood there, holding them and looking away. Yukimura came forward and took the gun and badge from him.

Feeling like a part of his life had been taken away from him, Sanada bowed and stayed that way. He didn’t raised until Yukimura had left the office, not daring to look at the disappointment in his face or his retreating back. He knew he couldn’t take it, not one more time.

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

Yagyuu turned the water off, and stared at his reflection in the shower mirror. His skin was still steamy from the hot water and his hair stuck to his face. He brushed it back with his fingers so he could take a look at his face. Even with his farsightedness, he could see how evidently worn out he looked and this wasn’t nearly over.

Now, that he had a greater view of things, he understood why Niou had decided to risk his own life. For how badly Yagyuu would love to return to his established routine, and away from crazed policemen that were ready to kidnap him and foolishly endanger their lives for the sake of justice, Yagyuu couldn’t ever go back and pretend he didn’t know anything.

He heard the alarm on his nightstand going off, telling him that he had over half an hour before he needed to head to work. Pulling a towel from the rack, he dried himself and got out of the bathroom. His clothes were already ironed and in perfect order on the bed, like everything in his life had been before this.

Yagyuu thought he had always guided his life by the book, through rightness and justice. Now he faced a crossroads where he needed to be the judge of what was right and wrong, choose between good and evil, between his own safety and others’. Yagyuu didn’t have Niou’s carefree attitude towards life nor Sanada’s passionate sense of justice; he was a more balanced, and held a convenient yet pragmatic view of life.

_Easier._

Yagyuu knew the automated coffee machine had started grinding of its own accord, by the muffled sound he could hear coming from the kitchen. It was timed accordingly so he could take freshly made coffee to work every day, and then again when he came home from work from Monday to Friday. Methodically, he started to get dressed. Falling into his daily routines calmed him and let him refocus. He slipped his wallet into his pants’ back pocket and his phone in the one in the front of his shirt. Finally, Yagyuu reached for his wristwatch on the nightstand, next to Niou’s lighter.

The doorbell rang all of the sudden, startling him and making him drop the lighter to the floor.

Yagyuu frowned --he wasn’t expecting anyone. Still, he was dressed already and he had some time to spare, so he went to the living room and looked through the peephole. After seeing two men standing outside, Yagyuu hurried to open the door

“Good afternoon, Deputy Director Abukara?”

“Good evening, Hiroshi. This is Assistant Commissioner Utada, from the city police,” said Deputy Director Abukara introducing the other man; Yagyuu bowed slightly. “May we come in?”

“Of course.” Yagyuu moved out of the way, letting them pass into the small apartment and closing the door afterwards. “Nice too meet you, Utada-san. Please take a seat.”

“That won’t be necessary, my dear boy. We don’t plan on staying for too long,” Abukara said and Yagyuu warily watched how Utada seemed to be far too interested in exploring his apartment. “My good friend here was feeling a bit anxious about some _deeply unsettling_ rumors -totally unfounded, over some of our health institutions. At some point, your name came up and I’ve only had good things to say about you. Still, he insisted on meeting you personally.”

Yagyuu stared at them. Was he still a suspect, even after the agreement he had come to with Sanada?

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about, Deputy Director Abukara,” he said carefully. “Has something occurred at the ER to make you question my work?”

“Oh, no. It has to do more with the hospitals and charities that your family is involved with,” Abukara said, trying to dismiss it but Yagyuu saw how sharp his stare had become. Utada had stopped his inspection and was listening intently.

Instinctively, he took a sideways glance to where the documents and evidence he had gathered in the last few days were in a plain backpack on his dining table. He was supposed to take it with him, and hand it over to Sanada the next day. He had decided to trust Sanada and do the right thing, whatever consequences that might bring in the long run.

“You would have to ask my father about that. He will be able to give you more assertive answers to your questions, I’m sure. I’m hardly involved in my family’s business,” Yagyuu said looking at Abukara. Utada came unnervingly close to him.

“Oh, yes. I already asked him and he said the same thing. You see, besides being friends, we are business partners. Your family and mine are really close, you are basically a son to me!”

“Ah, you are too kind, Abukara-san.” Yagyuu forced a modest smile onto his face. There was something wrong with this. He couldn’t tell why, but he felt like he needed to get away, and fast.

“Just stating the truth. And since you are a good boy, I’m sure you wouldn’t do something that could put our business and personal relationships in risk, right?”

“Of course not, sir.” Akubara was staring at him as if he wanted to see the lie within his words. Yagyuu held his stare until he saw Utada moving in the corner of his eye. The police officer had found something worth his attention, but since he wasn’t facing them, Yagyuu couldn’t see what he was holding.

“He’s lying,” Utada said simply and Yagyuu felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Excuse me?” Yagyuu inquired, sounding offended at such an accusation.

Utada turned to them then, and passed something to Akubara; who looked slightly shaken when he saw what it was.

“Ah, yes. It appears so,” Akubara said, placing the framed photo of Yagyuu and Niou on the kitchen bar. Yagyuu’s heart sank to his feet as the realization of what was happening, kicked in. “I think you need to come with us, Hiroshi.”

Yagyuu stared at them for a second, heart beating fast and mind running wild. Utada had opened his suit jacket, to show Yagyuu his gun. Swallowing hard, Yagyuu quickly reached for the backpack and made for the door. Yagyuu ran as fast as his legs allowed him to, but he could still hear Utada and Akubara right behind him.

He was about to reach the stairs when a hand closed over his mouth and pulled him back. Another arm went for his neck, locking him in place and blocking his air supply. Yagyuu continued fighting, more desperately in his need for air. With his vision blurring and black dots appearing, Yagyuu felt a pinch in his arm and everything faded to black.

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

The morning was cold --it had rained earlier. The park was deserted at that time of the day, and the bench Sanada was sitting on was still slightly wet. It didn’t matter. He was focused and determined, and wouldn’t let anything stop him from bringing down the crime ring in the health system. Yes, he had been suspended for a month and he would not get any support from Yukimura for the investigation. Still, if Yagyuu –as a civilian- presented charges against the people involved, they still had a chance to make the higher ups to listen.

Sanada checked his wristwatch once more. Yagyuu was late for their meeting and it made Sanada feel unsettled. It had been in the early morning when Sanada realized that Yagyuu had called him in the middle of the night. It was strange since he slept with his phone next to him, so it probably couldn’t have rung more than once, if it had not waken Sanada up. When Sanada tried to return the call, he had been directed to voicemail. It was strange, but it could be caused by a different number of things, so he tried not to think much into it. Electronic devices failed, too.

And so he waited.

After two hours had passed, he was forced to accept that Yagyuu wasn’t going to come. Sanada dialed Yagyuu’s phone again, but it was still dead. With a mix of worry and annoyance, he tried the hospital’s number instead.

_“Good morning, you are calling to the ER of Fujiki Hospital. This is Misune Hikari speaking, how can I help you?”_

“Yes, could you please link me to doctor Yagyuu Hiroshi’s phone extension?”

_“Dr. Yagyuu no longer works with us. Would you like me to direct you to new person in charge?”_

What?!

“What do you mean he doesn’t work there anymore? There must be a mistake… I spoke with him there this week.”

_“The information I have is that he was recently transferred to another hospital. Would you like me to direct you to new person in charge?”_

Sanda hung up then, the phone almost breaking with how hard he was gripping it. Something was happening. Had Yagyuu bailed out at the last minute and decided against presenting evidence on his father? Shit.

Sanadas pressed another familiar number.

“Akaya. I need Yagyuu’s address, now.”

_“Sanada-san? Is that you? I heard that you got suspended. I-“_

“Now, Akaya,” Sanada growled into the phone. They didn’t have time to waste. Couldn’t Kirihara just pay attention and obey for once?

_“But Yukimura took everything!”_

“He took everything he thought was related to the case. Check in the second drawer of my desk. There must be a black folder there. Under the first file, there is Yagyuu’s profile. Hurry up and send it to me.”

Sanada didn’t wait for Kirihara’s reply and hung up again. He tried calling Yagyuu one last time, without success. His phone vibrated and Sanada hoped that it was Yagyuu returning the call, but it was just Kirihara’s text message. Yagyuu’s house wasn’t far from where he was waiting.

Sanada started running.

 

 

-·-

 

By the time Sanada got to the apartment, he was slightly out of breath. He knocked on the door a couple of times but he got no response back. Sanada knocked _harder_. Desperation was crawling inside of him, a sense of wrongness taking over his senses. He pulled out a knife from his belt and forced the lock open.

Sanada had half expected to find Yagyuu’s apartment in a mess, indicating he had been forced to not go to the meeting. Yet everything was in order and nothing was out of place. Yagyuu had just decided to not get involved then.

Sanada frowned. The bedroom door was open. If Yagyuu had left abruptly, there was probably something in his bedroom that could indicate where he was going; a suitcase, clothes missing, personal toiletries. Sanada entered the room and found nothing out of place. The bed was made, and there weren’t clothes scattered around. It looked like Yagyuu was just away for the morning and not for a longer period of time. He was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of silver in the corner of his eye. Something was shining next to the bed. He bent down to pick it up. A lighter. _Yagyuu’s_ lighter, he had seen it before. Had Yagyuu forgotten about it in his haste? Putting it inside his pocket, Sanada returned to the small living room.

He sighed heavily as he sat on a chair near the kitchen bar, torn between being relieved and disappointed. He had expected better from Yagyuu. Sanada looked at the framed picture of Niou and Yayuu there. He frowned and shook his head. How could Yagyuu have dismissed Niou’s sacrifice like this? After all, Nious had died trying to bring those men to justice.

Nonetheless, Sanada couldn’t really blame Yagyuu for running away. Not all people longed for justice, he had learned that a long time ago. But Sanada had been so sure about him, that he would cooperate…

A blinking red light caught Sanada’s attention. It was coming from the coffee machine. The machine beeped and started working, pouring coffee into the already full jar. The coffee started spilling on the floor. Sanada stood up and turned it off. It was really careless to leave the jar full when someone used an automated machine.

Unless, you hadn’t had time to empty it the first time it had turned on.

Immediately, Sanada pulled his phone out and dialed. “Marui, I need you to track a phone call for me.”

 

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

White.

Everything was white.

Whatever they had injected into his IV made him ache from inside out. Yagyuu blinked numbly, trying to will the drowsiness and nausea away. By instinct, he tried to swallow but that hurt too.

Everything did.

Yagyuu had woken up in one of his father’s hospitals. He had been surrounded by people he didn’t know, and some he might have known because they were covering their faces with masks. _They_ hadn’t been happy, when they checked the backpack contents. _They_ ordered the orderlies to beat him up. Yagyuu had fought but there was so much he could do, and he was eventually overpowered. _They_ had taunted him with taking his organs for trade, seeing he was so interested in the family business. Bleeding and hurting, he had demanded them to let him speak to his father, but _they_ had refused and laughed. Yagyuu knew that his father had to have spoken in his favor, for he was still alive and not dead like Niou was. _They_ can’t have been sure what to do with him if it wasn’t killing him. _They_ had left to talk things over, and Yagyuu had tried to call Sanada, only to have his phone taken away.

That only had made them madder. _They_ decided that a lesson was in order, to make sure that Yagyuu would never even think of exposing their underground business. So _they_ had placed him in an operating room, strapped him down to a hospital bed and shoved a feeding tube down his throat. _They_ said _they_ would leave him alone to think over his actions and repent, and then had left.

Yagyuu didn’t know how long had it been since then, nor did he have a clue about what time it was, with the artificial light always flickering white. Yagyuu knew that was exactly what they were aiming for, to strip him of his sense of time and identity. The nurse had come to force-feed him twice already. Yagyuu shivered at the memory and heard his heart monitor beeping as his cardiac rhythm increased.

Would Sanada look for him or would the policeman think he had cowered and ran away? If no one was looking for him, for how long would _they_ leave him like this? What else would _they_ do to him? He had seen what _they_ were capable of and he prayed for his father’s influence to be enough.

Yagyuu’s chest fell and rose quickly as he started to hyperventilate, making the monitor’s alarm go off. A nurse came in and he cowered in fear. She only checked his vitals on the screen without even looking at him. Yagyuu saw her injecting something in his IV again, and he felt an induced calm being forced into him. His eyelids became heavy and soon he was free of the whiteness of the room once more.

 

 

\---♦---♦---

 

 

“I’m already suspended, so _you_ should be the one worried about having a black stain in your record. You are not coming, Akaya, that’s an order.” Sanada was getting desperate. He understood Kirihara’s need to be helpful but this was a dangerous mission, and not even an authorized one.

“But you’re suspended, you can’t order me around. Sanada-san, I want to help y--”

“Stay put. I’ll call you if I need anything.” Sanada hung up. Yukimura’s department already had a member in disciplinary action, and they didn’t need to add Kirihara to the mess. He shoved his phone into the pocket of the orderly uniform he had stolen from one of the storage rooms and started walking down the hallway.

Marui had tracked Yagyuu’s midnight phone call to one of the hospitals involved in the case and Sanada had sneaked in by the service door after one of the janitors left. Service entries were always less secure than front doors, as investors were always more worried about someone leaving without paying, than someone walking in with supplies.

Hospitals usually had a good signage, and that helped Sanada to pretend that he knew where he was going. Since he was holding a clipboard and minding his own business, nobody seemed to give him a second look and he took advantage of it. Sanada walked past most of the areas that were open to public, knowing they wouldn’t keep Yagyuu in any of them. His anonymity was too good to last and when he reached the hospitalization area, he realized he needed an access card to go through.

This was going to be hard. He eyed the people around him, working and tending to the sick people. He could just come close to any of the employees and steal theirs. That wouldn’t be too difficult in theory, but it was too risky, the person could notice he was being robbed or could report the missing card and then they could track Sanada’s path.

Sanada would have to do it the hard way.

“Hey, I need to restock upstairs. Help me out?” Sanada said, patting one of the male nurses on the back.

“Again? Seriously, they are wasting things there. I know they have _priority clients_ there but this is too much,” the man complained and Sanada shrugged, keeping a straight face.

 _Priority clients_.

“You know how that goes.” Sanada let the orderly lead him to the nearest storage room; once inside, Sanada locked the door.

The guy didn’t know what had hit him.

Sanada apologized, internally, for having to knock him unconscious and for tying him and gagging him with bandages. He moved several boxes and dragged the body behind a rack, then placed the boxes back into place, successfully hiding him from view. When he finished, Sanada was sweating heavily, but he held the card tightly and the guy’s set of keys in his hand. He didn’t know how much time he would have before someone found him but he was going to use every second wisely.

He passed the electronic filters without a problem, taking a supply car with him. It was the closest thing he had to a weapon and he would hit someone with it if he had to. As soon he reached the hospitalization zone, he started checking the doors that weren’t locked. There weren’t many rooms in use and now he could understand why the nurse had complained about having to restock again. With every passing room, Sanada’s heart beat harder and faster. What if Yagyuu wasn’t there? What if they had already killed him and Sanada was too late?

Sanada tightened his hold on the car. No, he had to have time. He would find Yagyuu and get him out of there.

“What are you doing here?” Sanada stopped, when one of the nurses spoke to him.

“Just restocking,” he said, looking away.

“We didn’t ask for it,” she replied and Sanada started to think about different possibilities to avoid a direct confrontation with the woman. There were too many surveillance cameras on that floor to risk doing the same thing he had done to get the access card.

“I was just told to come here. Go check it for yourself,” He tried to sound calm and slightly annoyed.Yukimura had once praised his acting skills and he hoped they were enough to go through this. “If they get mad because our priority clients aren’t getting what they asked for, it’s not going to be my fault.”

The woman looked wary then. She looked at Sanada and then at the car and reluctantly gave him a short nod.

“Just be quick about it,” she snapped and Sanada refrained from glaring at her, and just nodded back, without meeting her gaze. Instead, he looked at his watch, as if he was impatient to finish the job. The nurse still didn’t seem satisfied, though. “I’m going to have a word with Minami from nurse station down stairs. She never listens to me. I’ll be right back.”

In the first two rooms, there were clearly sick patients that Sanada had never seen before. He dropped some new toiletries and medical supplies in the nightstand. Sanada wished he could hurry things up but he couldn’t risk getting discovered when he had gone so far already. He was beginning to become desperate when he reached the operation rooms. The first one had been closed because there had been an operation in progress, but the second one was open.

There was a man there, and if it wasn’t for the constant sounds coming from the machines he was plugged into, he would have thought it was a corpse. Then, he came closer.

When he saw the man’s face, Sanada’s heart stopped for a second.

 _Yagyuu_.

“What did they do to you?” All the fury and contempt Sanada felt must have filled the whisper because Yagyuu’s eyes fluttered open at the sound.

It looked like he was trying to focus on Sanada’s face, but it was impossible with how glazed his eyes were. Old memories washed over Sanada, from the times he had seen people in danger, from all the people he couldn’t save while in duty. He shook his head, blocking the ghosts from the past and jumped into action, instead. The leather straps holding Yagyuu down were hard to get undone but he did so as fast as he could.

“Come one, Yagyuu. Wake up. We need to get moving.”

Yagyuu started stirring a bit more as his limbs were free once again. And as he became more aware of what was happening, the monitors around them started to beep faster. Realizing how dangerous this could turn out to be, Sanada tried to calm him, but Yagyuu’s hands went straight to the tube in an intent to take it off. Sanada panicked, he didn’t know much about medicine but it didn’t seem like carelessly pulling it out was wise or advisable. Yagyuu seemed more freaked out by the second. Taking a deep breath, Sanada grabbed Yagyuu’s wrists and pulled them away. Even if Yagyuu was weak, he tried to fight against Sanada.

“Breathe--slowly,” Sanada whispered, looking straight into Yagyuu’s eyes. “I’m here and I won’t let them hurt you anymore, alright? It’s safe now. You need to calm down or the nurse is going to come to see what’s happening. Breathe.”

He breathed slowly as well, to make Yagyuu imitate his breathing rhythm. Soon, the machines beeped normally once more. Good.

“You are doing great. How do we take it out? Should I just pull it out? Nod or shake your head.”

Yagyuu nodded weakly.

“Alright. One swift motion, like taking a band aid off.” Sanada wasn’t sure who he was assuring anymore, if Yagyuu or himself. “At the count of three. One, two… three.”

Sanada pulled the tube out. For a moment, he thought the tube would continue forever into yagyuu’s throat, but soon Yagyuu was breathing desperately, gagging and coughing as Sanda held the tube on his hand. He could feel sweat dripping down his back and neck and he was never going to do this again. Ever. Still, this was only the beginning; they needed to get the hell out of there. Sanada wasn’t sure how much time they would have. Quickly, he reached to take the electrodes off Yagyuu’s chest, but the doctor stopped him.

“No…” Yagyuu croaked. “Need to unplug the monitors first… alarms…. on…”

Sanada nodded and did as told. “Can you stand up?”

“Yes… just… help me… I’m dizzy….”

Sanada helped Yagyuu off the table, and supported him as his knees failed on him. There was no time to waste, so Sanada half carried, half dragged him out of the OR. The nurse wasn’t back yet and Sanada thanked his ancestors for looking after them. Sanada thought about reaching the elevators but there was a nurse stationed near it. They would have to use the stairs.

“You! What are you doing?! Stop right there!”

Shit.

Their cover was evidently blown so subtlety didn’t matter anymore. They just needed to get out as fast as they could. Sanada put an arm around Yagyuu’s waist and held him tight before running towards the elevator. Before the doors closed, Sanada saw the nurse with a telephone in her hand and heard the sound of the security alarm going off on the whole floor. Without delay, Sanada pressed the police security code used on elevators to block any calls from the outside and to go directly to the indicated floor

Sanada cursed loudly--there wasn’t a basement option. This wasn’t a service elevator and the lowest they could go was the main lobby--where the hospital security would be already waiting for them. Sanada turned to look at Yagyuu, who was holding the rail looking sick. Sanada’s reflection on the mirror was plagued with worry and a chilling sensation spread through his bones. They were fucked. Yagyuu seemed to know what was happening too, what would be waiting for them once the elevator’s doors opened. Yagyuu closed his eyes and sighed heavily, letting himself fall on the floor. Sanada came forward to hold him upright.

“It’s alright, I’ll call for backup.”

“Will they reach us on time?”

Sanada swallowed hard.

“Yes,” he lied, and he knew that Yagyuu knew he was lying. He pulled out his phone; he didn’t have any signal inside the elevator.

Yagyuu looked at him and turned paler.

“Stop the elevator and escape. I’ll stay here. They won’t kill me, I’ll be alright.” Sanada knew that he wasn’t the only one lying.

Sanada reached for the small gun on the strap on his ankle. He only had eight bullets, they needed to be enough. The numbers on the top of the door indicated they were just four floors away from the doors opening.

“I just texted them, alright?! We’ll make it out of here alive.” Three floors. “Listen, Yagyuu. I’m going to make a distraction when the doors open up. I know it’s hard for you, but you need to run. Understood? Run and don’t stop no matter what. I’ll cover your back.”

Two floors.

“Go to the police,” Sanada started and felt Yagyuu’s grip on his arm tightening; he was shaking his head, eyes wide. “Are they involved?”

“Yes… Utada...”

“That bastard. Alright. Speak only to Yukimura or Yanagi. Only them. They will keep you safe.”

One floor.

“Sanada-san…”

“Be ready.”

The doors rang before opening. Sanada stood in front of Yagyuu as a shield, aiming his small gun toward at a large group comprised of at least eight orderlies, several doctors and nurses and five security guards. Even with perfect aim, there was no way to take them all out with the bullets he had.

“They are two patients from our mental health guard, please be careful with them,” one of the doctors said, and Sanada heard himself growling in rage. That was such low move on their part. The security guards were aiming their guns at them, and the orderlies had what Sanada assumed to be tranquilizer pistols of some kind. “Drop your weapon and nobody needs to get hurt.”

“Just stabbed to death, or tortured…” Sanada heard Yagyuu whispering behind him. Sanada tightened his hold on the gun; his stare fierce, determined and fearless. He would get Yagyuu out of there alive, even if that cost him his own life.

“Run in three… two… one…”

Suddenly, there were flashes of light and sound coming from outside. Through the tall glass windows and doors, Sanada saw a whole squad of police patrols coming from all directions. The doctors and hospital personnel looked at each other, confused. Sanada used the momentary distraction to help Yagyuu out of the elevator and drop him behind a column. It would serve as cover for Sanada if it came to a shooting. Sanada held his breath and didn’t drop his gun as police men poured into the hospital’s lobby.

Even though Sanada had treasured every moment he’d spent with Yukimura, he’d never loved him more, than the moment that Yukimura strode in confidently through that door, police jacket perched on his shoulder, fluttering in the light breeze. Sanada breathed again.

They were safe.

“Drop your weapons!” Yukimura ordered. Behind him stood Kirihara and Atobe and his team, aiming their guns at the doctors. “Drop your weapons and raise your hands, _now_!”

Yukimura’s voice commanded obedience as always, and the doctors –seeing themselves outnumbered-, obeyed. Sanada let himself rest on the column as the world’s weight was lifted off his shoulders. As the police officers submitted the hospital personnel, a paramedic team went past them to check on Yagyuu and Sanada.

Sanada tried to make eye contact with Yukimura, trying to express his gratitude without words. Yukimura didn’t look in his direction as he talked to Atobe and made phone calls. Sanada closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them again, Yukimura was staring at him. Those blue eyes were crowded with emotions, worry, annoyance, the promise to interrogate Sanada later about the details of the case, but there was relief there, too. There would be time later, to explain things.

For now, just Yukimura showing up when Sanada had needed him the most was more than enough.

 

 

-·-

 

Sanada looked down at the cup of coffee on his hands. It was a very enjoyable feeling, the warmth spreading from his hands to the rest of his body. Usually, coffee made him alert, but now it was soothing and relaxing. From afar, he watched the television reporters and cameras interviewing Yukimura outside the hospital. It had made the national news, a network of corruption in the health system that had spawned several major crimes like human organ trafficking, false charities in deplorable living conditions, murder and tax evasion. Some of the bigger names involved had been already leaked to the press; arrests were being made in the different levels of the government and yet, that was only the beginning. Now that it was in the public eye, it would be hard for the crime ring to try and obliterate it by killing a few people that knew too much.

Sanada turned to look at the ambulance where Yagyuu was being tended to. He still looked rather shaken but he was alive and in one piece, which Sanada thought was a better outcome than before Yukimura had arrived. Sanada still felt bad for him. Yagyuu had been a victim of the circumstances indeed and it wasn’t over for him, yet. It looked like his father was just as involved as the evidence had first suggested and the Yagyuu family would be under the spotlight for a long time.

“Inspector Sanada, here,” Kirihara said, handing him over a sandwich. Sanada nodded gratefully; he couldn’t remember when was the last time he had ate, to be honest. Putting his coffee away, he took a large bite from it and hummed in delight. For once, Kirihara didn’t interrupt him or annoy him with constant questions. Sanada felt a slight sting of guilt and made a mental note to try and be more tolerant towards him.

“Thank you, Akaya,” Sanada said and he truly meant it; Kirihara’s smile was bright and wide. He took another bite, he hadn’t realized just how hungry he was. “How did you manage to bring Yukimura here? Because it was you, wasn’t it? The one that brought backup when I told you not.”

“Oh, that! Yeah… well kinda. I knew that even if I waited, you wouldn’t call so I just went ahead and went to talk to Chief Inspector Yukimura, but Atobe was already there when I got to his office. Atobe was really mad. He said that Yukimura should have listened to you because even if you were….” Kirihara stopped there and Sanada knew exactly what Atobe had said, “… yeah…. well, he said that you would never accuse someone of something if it wasn’t right. I think he must have checked the evidence that Chief Inspector Yukimura took from us after he found out you were suspended or something. Anyway, he said that Yukimura was the one acting like a fool. Obviously, things went ugly from there…”

Sanada laughed, feeling amused. Yes, he could totally see that happening. “So what, you pulled them apart?”

“Are you kidding me?! Yukimura’s scary when he’s mad! I just stormed into the office like I hadn’t been eavesdropping, and told him you had gone to capture them by yourself, because you didn’t want us to disobey him. Then I said that if you lost your organs, it was going to be his fault.”

Sanada choked on his food after hearing that. He had to give it to the kid, it took guts to pull off such a stunt in front of Yukimura. Sanada drank half the water bottle Kirihara offered him, in one go.

“Well, that was that all I could think of with so little time!” Kirihara said, trying to defend himself.

Kirihara had been right though, that would have been the outcome if the police hadn’t come in on time. Sanada patted the young officer on the back. “You did well, continue.”

“So yeah, Atobe was really pissed off, and called up a team to rescue you right then and there. I think that was when Yukimura realized something was really wrong and that you were in danger. So we came here and you know the rest.”

Sanada took a deep breath and nodded. “This is only the beginning. There is a long way to go. They infiltrated our force, too. They protected the crime ring from the inside, and they will continue doing it. I just know it…”

“But we will be there to catch them and bring them to justice, right Sanada-san?”

Sanada looked at Kirihara and then to where Yagyuu was still being tended to, before nodding. “As long as there are people that long for justice and fairness, they won’t stand a chance.”

 

 

-·-

 

“How are you doing?” Sanada said, sitting next to Yagyuu. The doctor cringed away from him, and Sanada knew it would take awhile for him to recover from all that had happened in the last few days. It would shake any sane person and he recognized the brave effort Yagyuu had made to go through with it.

“I’m alright,” Yagyuu said quietly. His usually smooth voice sounded too raspy and Sanada was worried he had damaged his vocal cords somehow. Something must have showed in Sanada’s face because Yagyuu hurried to reassure him. “Don’t worry, Sanada-san. I owe you my life, I’m grateful.”

Sanada shook his head.

“It was my duty. And I failed at protecting you, when I let you go without official protection. I knew firsthand that these were dangerous people. I mean, I got shot at just for looking around Niou’s apartment shortly after his death.”

Yagyuu looked surprised.

“You did?”

“Yes. It was probably someone sent by them to keep an eye on Niou’s place, to make sure the information he had collected would die with him,” Sanada said, brushing it off. It made sense, and it had been around the time that the false culprit was caught too. They were having a close eye on the case and the people involved; they had been really good at trying to make things to disappear.

“Ah. About that…”

“Yes?”

“I think I scared you, I apologize,” Yagyuu said, staring at something far away, and Sanada had the impression that he wasn’t really looking at something in particular. “I… Niou and I used to do that all the time when we were at high school. Impersonating each other to challenge ourselves. We knew each other as well as we did ourselves, so it was easy. And thrilling. That was one of the clues he left me, that I had to _switch_ with him… So I went to go and try to find information that way. Still, it must have been unsettling for you.”

“You have no idea, I thought I was going mad,” Sanada sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t been a ghost then. “You did unsettle me, but if someone has done something to wrong the other, it was me. I was the one that held you against your will and forced cooperation out of you. You must understand that I was only seeking to bring the responsible people for this crimes, to justice.”

“I know for sure that I will never get in the same car as you, if you are driving Sanada-san. I hope you can understand that.”

Sanada nodded, amused.

“Yes, I do. So, no hard feelings?” Sanada said, outstretching a hand to Yagyuu. The doctor shook it and nodded in approval. “I will speak to Chief Inspector Yukimura to have you under police protection during the trial process.”

“Ah, should I really accept your offer, Sanada-san? I’ve learned interesting things about the police system as of late. I got kidnapped twice by members of the force in less than two days,” Yagyuu said sounding thoughtful and serious.

Sanada’s hands gripped his knees tightly. No civilian should be afraid of the people that were meant to protect them. “I was told that Utada fled after it hit the news, but we will get him. Utada and everyone involved that shamed the name of our forces by agreeing to this. We are supposed to protect and serve, and we will work to restore the faith on us that has been lost.”

When Sanada turned to look at Yagyuu, he realized that Yagyuu had been staring at him grudgingly impressed and felt his cheeks going red. Both of them look away.

“My family runs a dojo, maybe you should come and take the classes someday. You never know when knowing a martial art can come in handy.”

“I will think about it, thank you.”

A small smile formed in Yagyuu’s face and Sanada found himself smiling back.


End file.
